Nesting

My maternity leave officially began Monday and I have been nesting this week. As you can see, Callie is having a hard time understanding these things are not for her. Sure hope the baby isn't allergic to dogs. As Andrew said awhile back, "It would be sad if the baby had to start sleeping outside." We have finished lamaze and so now the counting begins...2 more weeks.

Things are squared away in Austin (well except for that whole employment thing)

Back from Austin. It's time for the home stretch out here in LA. Got a lot squared away for our return later this summer.

People wanted to know if I was okay with the baby being born out in California. Of course I'm okay with it. That will be the excuse whenever baby acts up. However, if we want to call the kid a Texan, he's got to be born over Texas soil, so...

After Paige's wedding last night, I went down to the Capitol and got some Texas to put in a jar to bring to the delivery. If you think I'm kidding, you might not know me very well. Apparently it's actually pretty common. Or at least enough people do it that it doesn't make me look insane. The nurses out here might have a different opinion when I roll that jar under the bed.

(I hope that soil wasn't imported from Oklahoma, or else this kid's going to be really messed up)

One cool thing I saw when I was there last night was a big group of college kids were playing Capture the Flag over the whole grounds. I wanted to play, but I was still in my suit.

I also finished tying up all the loose ends on our house. I've decided to go with a minimalist approach to furniture since that's the cheapest route. The only thing in this room will be the rosemary plant that I'm holding.

Gone to Texas... in an 02 VW

On Tuesday, I began the 21 hour drive from LA to Texas so that I could leave one car in Austin, and the other will stay with us til we move back. It was a long, uneventful drive. Here are some sights though...


If you've ever made the drive, you've seen these signs. There are probably 50 signs leading up to "The Thing" in both directions. I didn't stop. Maybe next time.


From LA to Anthony, NM I drove angry and unfriendly. Then I saw this sign and I remembered that I needed to relax a little.


Two things kept the car rolling along. The first was a feast consisting of brisket, ribs and cabrito (goat) in Junction, TX at Coopers...


... the second was satellite radio. It really doesn't get any better than that set right there. I can say that because I requested it.

115 thousand for an exhibition game?

Erinn and I just got back from the Dodgers - Red Sox game at the LA Coliseum. They were expecting up to 115 thousand in attendance. I don't think it got that high, but it felt like it at times.

They encouraged people to park for free at Dodgers Stadium and they'd have shuttles to take people to the Coliseum. When we got there it was the biggest clusterfunk ever. Lines for miles, shuttles that held 15 people, it was a disaster. If we had gotten in line, we'd still be at Dodger Stadium. There was no one in charge. No police presence. No one guiding people around. Just one gigantic snake of humanity. We left and drove ourselves down to USC and parked in their garage for $20. Worth every penny.

We finally got there. Our tickets were General Admission - Standing Room Only, with an obstructed view of course. That meant we'd have to sneak in elsewhere...

We finally found some empty seats. They just happened to be the seats furthest from home plate. Once vertigo set in, it was time to leave.

Dollar Days at Santa Anita

Man, it's been forever since we've posted. Things are starting to get a little hectic as baby day rapidly approaches. Fortunately Wells and Leslie came into town this weekend so we were able to take a break from all that.

Behold, the $2 feast. Repeat as necessary.

We went into the infield long enough to take this picture and decide that it was too hot.

I probably bet on the blue horse.

While checking out the horses in the paddock, I noticed the handlers spraying Pam on the horse's hooves. This can mean only one thing: They're going to saute the horse if it loses.

We made Drudge!

The fuzz must not have heard me watching the Nebraska game on Tuesday. When you hear me describe South Pas as a small town, this is just one of the reasons. So close to LA, yet so far away.

New Glider

I can't tell if Erinn is mimicking Callie or if it's the other way around. We picked up our glider the other day and it has a strong resemblance to Chairry from Pee Wee's Playhouse, which makes it even more awesome.

Also, it's March 2nd, so...

Happy Texas Independence Day!

Hey, that's not my car, man.

So I flew back to L.A. on Monday and went to the parking lot to pick up my car but the lot had lost my key. They lost my key. This place also rents cars so they let me pick whatever car was available. It was between the Charger (above) and a PT Cruiser. As of today, they still haven't found the keys, so it's now up to them to pay Volkswagen for a new set. They just made a $350 mistake.

Moral of the story: Always bring your spare set of keys when you valet because, chances are, some idiot's gonna lose em.

It's me (Erinn)!

Andrew is in Austin this weekend looking at houses, so I thought I would post before he returns and takes over the blog again. Last weekend some USC film students asked if they could use the front exterior of our house for a short film they were making. We blindly agreed. Before we knew it, we had lights set up INSIDE our house, fake curtains on our windows, and a Chevy in our driveway. The task of keeping Callie quiet from morning until dark was a tiring one. I'm just glad I said "no" to restroom access for the crew. P.S. I promise pregnancy pictures soon...